Second Chances
by Junebugsm
Summary: Jesus always felt like Stef and Lena gave Brandon special treatment, but never said anything about it until he finally snapped and just let it all out.


**Jesus always felt like Stef and Lena gave Brandon special treatment, but never said anything about it until he finally snapped and just let it all out.**

(A request by a guest and elizap45.)

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"So where is Brandon staying again?" Mariana asked as the rest of the family sat down to dinner two days after the shooting.

Nick had been arrested and everyone had survived their first day back at school. Things had died down and finally getting back to normal - minus the fact that Brandon hadn't been seen in the house since he snuck out the day before.

"He has decided that he wants to live with Courtney right now." Stef said somewhat stiffly. "He will come to his senses and be back soon enough." She added, more out of hope than belief.

"So he gets away with it again." Jesus commented under his breath as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Gets away with what?" Jude asked curiously, having heard Jesus' comment right beside him and not realizing he was being soft for a reason.

But before Jesus could respond Stef's head snapped up. "Care to explain that Jesus." She said, wondering what exactly her son knew and more importantly how.

Jesus would normally just pretend like it was no big deal and talk about how lucky Brandon was that he was now eighteen and could make these kinds of decisions. But the last couple of days had been too much for Jesus and he just couldn't hold it in any longer.

"He has sex with Callie and then runs from the consequences and gets away with it." Jesus stated bitterly.

"Where did you hear that?" Lena asked in surprise as she looked to Callie while Stef remained silent, gritting her teeth to keep from saying something she would regret.

"That's all you care about?" Jesus questioned in surprise. "How I know?"

"It is none of your business." Stef said flatly, hoping to end the topic.

"Yes, it is." Jesus shot back. "I'm part of this family too, even if I'm not as special as Brandon." He snapped in disgust.

Stef and Lena both looked at Jesus questioningly, wondering what he meant by that statement. They had never treated any of their children differently - or at least they had never meant to.

"Oh come on, you can't be serious." Jesus said as he saw their looks of confusion. "You may love us all but Brandon is definitely the special one. You may not say it out loud and you may not even like to believe it but the fact is, we're always going to be second." He pointed to the four kids around the table.

"Why would you say something like that?" Lena asked, hurt at what her son was even implying.

Dinner had come to a complete standstill as all cutlery was put down. Both moms were staring back at Jesus waiting for him to explain. Jude was looking angrily at Callie who was looking down at her plate avoiding all eye-contact and wishing she could just disappear into thin air while Mariana was watching her brother, wondering what exactly he was going to say.

"Oh, I don't know... let's see." Jesus pretended to think hard. "He broke into school, made and sold fake ID's and didn't even get arrested because mom's a cop but when Mariana sold my pills to help Ana and she got suspended for a week." He began angrily and continued before anyone could say anything. "He was allowed to continue the piano because he's some fucking prodigy while Mariana had to quit the costumes and I had to quit wrestling."

"You were doing drugs." Stef said firmly, unwilling to let Jesus continue.

But Jesus was far from done. "Brandon did pot and nothing happened to him then either. You didn't even take his keyboard away for a day." He said accusingly, staring at Stef directly now. "Brandon was just as much to blame when he kissed Callie but Callie was the one that got sent to a group home while Brandon gets whatever the hell he wants because every time he threatens to go live with Mike."

"Jesus, that is not true." Lena tried to stop him, hoping to clear things up. She had had no idea that this was how he felt and she now wondered if this was how the others felt too.

"You forbid us to leave the house yesterday but he snuck out and now he refuses to come back because you are mad? He keeps getting all these exceptions because he has a birth father or because he's a fucking prodigy. Well guess what, we all have talents - Mariana was doing really well with the costumes but she had to quit and I was getting to be the best wrestler at Anchor Beach but I had to punch Brandon in the face before you would even consider letting me go to Flintwood and then, when I knew they wanted me to do something wrong I left but still I get punished and can't wrestle which was really helping me with my ADHD but Brandon gets to go to whatever program he wants and go across the country to play the piano."

A silence fell over the room for a few short seconds as everyone tried to process all that had been said. Jesus was panting from his rant but he refused to lose eye-contact with Stef. Lena was trying hard hold it together. Mariana looked nervous for her brother but at the same time she was proud of him for standing up for himself and ready to support him if he needed it. Jude was now refusing to look at Callie as he realized once again that things were falling apart because she was stupid and selfish and Callie was still wishing she could be anywhere but here.

"Well I'm glad he's gone." Jesus finally continued in a calmer, more emotional tone. "Maybe now the rest of us will finally get a chance to be special." He said honestly, tears brimming his eyes as he tried to hold them back.

The words cut both moms like a sharp knife and neither of them knew what to say. They had never meant for any of this to happen but clearly it was true for as they looked around the table at the faces of the other children they could see that they felt it too.

"I'm sorry that you feel this way Jesus." Stef said uncomfortably; her pride hurt. "I'm sorry that you all feel this way."

" _Do_ you all feel this way?" Lena asked for confirmation as she looked to the other three children.

Mariana looked up at Callie and Jude and realized, considering the circumstances, she had to be the one to speak up. "I mean, it would be nice to have the kind of security that Brandon has." She admitted softly, determined to be honest and help her brother but not ready to hurt her moms either.

"Jude?" Lena coaxed gently, hoping he'd open up as well. If they were going to solve this problem then openness and honesty were the only way to do it.

"I'm not sure how I feel." Jude answered honestly after thinking about it for a minute.

Lena nodded in acceptance while Stef continued to hold her tears in. She had never realized she'd done this but now she could see that it was clearly her fault. Jesus had been right - she'd been so afraid that Brandon would choose Mike over her that she'd pretty much given him whatever he wanted. Granted his hand and his experiences with Dani, which thankfully the others knew nothing about, had saved him from certain punishments, he'd still gotten away with a lot.

"Callie." Lena moved on to the last child and waited for a response.

But she got none for Callie refused to take her eyes off the cherry tomato that was sitting in the middle of her plate.

"You can be honest Callie." Lena said gently, realizing that with the other children already knowing about her relationship with Brandon there was no real good in keeping things quiet.

But Callie continued to stare at her plate, too afraid to say anything. She was already on very thin ice and and she sure as hell wasn't going to cause it to crack.

The silence became deafening for Stef and she finally looked over at Callie who's lower lip was quivering slightly. She reached out a hand and gently rubbed Callie's back. Callie tensed under the contact but Stef increased the pressure until Callie finally relaxed again.

"What are you thinking Callie?" Stef questioned gently once Callie was no longer holding herself ridged. "You area part of this family and you have just as much of a right to tell us how you feel." She encouraged, hoping to reassure Callie that nothing had changed.

Callie fidgeted for a moment, trying to find the courage and the words to say what she was feeling but fear was still getting the better of her and so she remained silent, closing her eyes to avoid crying.

"You feel like Brandon gets special treatment too." Stef stated, understanding Callie's unspoken words.

"Brandon doesn't have to worry about his place in this family." Callie finally admitted softly, her eyes boring a hole in her plate. "I do." She finished, her voice wavering slightly at the pain.

"You don't." Stef said firmly. "Your place is just as strong."

"I had sex with my foster brother and you can undo my adoption." Callie said, finally looking up at Stef directly.

"And Brandon had sex with his foster sister." Stef retorted. "But the fact is that he is my son and you are my daughter and nothing will change that."

Stef continued to look at Callie for a moment before turning to address all the children together. "I'm sorry that I ever made you feel like you weren't as important. I honestly didn't even know I was doing it and I wish you had come to us sooner about this." She said, a catch in her voice as she tried to keep hold of her emotions. "I love each and every one of you exactly the same and no mistake is every going to test that love." She said firmly. "I will tell you this every single day from now until you believe it without a doubt and I will do better... I will make sure that you are never put in a position to feel like this again. I promise you that."

The table was silent as everyone listened to Stef for it was clear that they were mostly upset with her. She was the one biologically connected to Brandon and the one who mainly treated him differently.

Stef then turned to Jesus. "Now that I think about it, you are right - I give Brandon a lot because he threatens to move in with Mike but it's not because I love him any more than the rest of you. It's because I do not have to share any of you with anyone besides mama. When Robert was trying to take Callie I fought to keep her here as well and I would do it for absolutely any of you. Brandon does not have any more or less love from me than the rest of you and yes, circumstances are different for him but they are different for each one of you too. You all have other people in your lives that you love and that love you and we are all trying to learn to accept that. I never want any one of you to feel like you aren't free to get to know your biological families but at the same time it would kill me if I ever lost any one of you to them." The pain and fear in her voice was clear and for the first time Jesus, and the rest, realized that Stef and Lena hadn't treated them differently deliberately.

"You won't." Jesus finally said, looking up at his mother, sincerity in his eyes. "You won't lose any of us." He assured, sure of that fact for all his siblings.

"You're our moms and we don't want anything else." Mariana added with a small smile. The tables had turned and it was now their turn to assure their parents that they were loved and wanted.

"That was always my biggest fear - that we wouldn't be part of this family." Callie added, feeling just a little bit more secure now. "There is nothing I want more than to be an Adams Foster."

Stef and Lena smiled as they grabbed the nearest children and hugged them tight, waiting for the other two to join in and soon all six of them were one huge jumble of hugs and kisses. They had all made mistakes and all hurt someone or the other but the beauty of a family was that there was always forgiveness and always a second chance.

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 **Author's Note:**

This was hard to write because I love Stef and I hate it when she's wrong about something but I do truly feel that this story is pretty accurate. Yes, Stef does get upset with Brandon but then he threatens to leave and she gives in slightly. The fact is that he is her baby and she can't bear to lose him and he's the only one she has to share with someone besides Lena.

The other title I was toying with was _Golden Boy_. It seemed to fit the first half of the story better while the second half went better with the current title. (Plus, honestly, I didn't want Brandon to be the title of my story :P)

I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for the reviews.

Love Junebug.


End file.
